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Occupational exposure to pesticides: development of a job-exposure matrix for use in population-based studies (PESTIPOP)

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 28, pages 281–288 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Occupational exposure to pesticides concerns a wide population of workers not only in agriculture. The reliability of self-reported information on pesticide use is questionable because of the diversity of use. The PESTIPOP job-exposure matrix has been designed to assess pesticide occupational exposure in the general population. The matrix is composed of two axes: the first axis corresponding to jobs (combinations of occupations and industries) and the second one to pesticide exposure. The estimated exposure metric is the probability of exposure coupled with a reliability assessment (low, medium or high). These metrics were defined by combining different sources: (1) an a priori expert assessment (Agricultural industry experts); (2) data from a multicenter case–control study on brain tumors in the general population (occupational history, specific questionnaires); and (3) an a posteriori expert assessment based on the data of a case–control study. So far, 2559 jobs have been identified and 209 (8%) were found to be exposed to pesticides. Jobs with agricultural exposure had a higher exposure probability than jobs with non-agricultural exposure (wood preservation, park maintenance, pest control). Indirect exposure was more frequent than direct exposure. The PESTIPOP matrix will be transcoded into international classifications for use in epidemiological studies.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by a grant from the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’alimentation de l’environnement et du travail (ANSES) (Project EST-13-164).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Bordeaux, INSERM UMR 1219, Equipe EPICENE, Bordeaux, F33000, France

    Camille Carles, Ghislaine Bouvier, Camille Pouchieu, Lucile Migault, Clément Piel & Isabelle Baldi

  2. CHU de Bordeaux, Service de Médecine du Travail et pathologie professionnelle, Bordeaux, F33000, France

    Camille Carles & Isabelle Baldi

  3. CHU, Toulouse, France

    Camille Carles, Ghislaine Bouvier, Camille Pouchieu, Lucile Migault, Clément Piel & Isabelle Baldi

  4. UMR 1027, Université Paul Sabatier III, Inserm, Toulouse, France

    Yolande Esquirol

  5. Nîmes University Hospital, BESPIM, Nîmes, France

    Yolande Esquirol & Pascale Fabbro-Peray

  6. Centre François Baclesse, Caen, France

    Séverine Tual & Pierre Lebailly

  7. Caen Basse-Normandie University, Caen, France

    Pierre Lebailly

  8. INSERM, UMR1086-Cancers et Préventions, Caen, France

    Pierre Lebailly

Authors
  1. Camille Carles
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  2. Ghislaine Bouvier
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Correspondence to Camille Carles.

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Carles, C., Bouvier, G., Esquirol, Y. et al. Occupational exposure to pesticides: development of a job-exposure matrix for use in population-based studies (PESTIPOP). J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 28, 281–288 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2017.26

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